EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women’s tennis heads to the state of Illinois for a pair of weekend matches against Big Ten opponents. MSU will play No. 14 Northwestern at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 6, and No. 54 Illinois at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Spartans are 10-10 on the season and 0-5 in conference matches.

“Every weekend is an opportunity for us and this weekend is no different,” said head coach Simone Jardim. “This is our moment to peak and get a win.”

Last Time OutThe Spartans fell at home last weekend to Indiana, 7-0, and No. 17 Purdue, 5-2.

Against the Hoosiers, the Spartans won their lone match in doubles play on court three. Sophomore Julianne Gruber and freshman Emily Meyers edged their opponent 9-7, picking up their 10th win of the season.

On Sunday, MSU grabbed two singles points from Purdue. Junior Marina Bohrer notched a victory, 6-2, 6-3, on court one and senior Nicole Herzog picked up the point at No. 4, 6-3, 6-4. Bohrer and sophomore Catherine Parenteau won the lone Spartans doubles match as they defeated Purdue on court one, 8-6.

Singles PlayMarina Bohrer has held court one in singles for the Spartans all season with a 12-6 record, including two victories over regionally ranked opponents. Sharing time at the No. 2 and No. 3 slots are junior Olga Chernova and Catherina Parenteau posting 7-10 and 8-12 records, respectively. Emily Meyers is 9-10 after seeing action on courts four, five and six. Senior Michaela Silesova’s record is steady at 6-3 and Nicole Herzog brought her record to 6-6 with a win and a loss last weekend.

No. 14 NorthwesternLast weekend, the Wildcats notched two victories, shutting out both Minnesota and Wisconsin, bringing their record to 10-7 on the season and 4-1 in conference play.

No. 63 Kate Turvy possesses a 5-7 record on court one. No. 96 Veronica Corning owns a 9-5 record this season after matches split among No. 1, 2 and 3. Belinda Niu owns a 12-4 dual record with an 8-3 record at the third slot and Alicia Barnett is 7-5.

Nida Hamilton and Linda Abu Mushrefova, the No. 9 ranked doubles pairing in the nation are 7-7 on the season, while Belinda Niu and Kate Turvy are 11-2. Alicia Barnett and Veronica Corning hold a 7-6 doubles record, with six wins in the No. 2 slot.

MSU looks for its first win against Northwestern this weekend, as the Wildcats have notched 34 wins against the Spartans.

No. 54 IllinoisThe Fighting Illini swept their three-game slate this past weekend, edging Wisconsin, 5-2, on Saturday and fending off both Minnesota, 5-2, and Chicago State, 6-0, in a doubleheader on Sunday.

Melissa Kopinski and Allison Falkin anchor the Illinois singles lineup. Kopinski holds a 6-8 with two wins over foes ranked in the top-100 and Falkin at 10-6 owns two top-100 victories herself. Illinois’ top doubles pairing, Kopinski and Rachael White, is currently 9-6 and on a two-match winning streak; the No. 21 doubles team in the nation has three wins over top-100 opponents.

The Fighting Illini lead the all-time series with the Spartans, 29-10. MSU picked up its last win in 2007, 5-2.

Doubles PointMSU is 8-1 when picking up the doubles point in matches. The Spartans also own one win where no doubles matches were played due to inclement weather.

Luck of the CourtMichigan State has tallied the most wins this season in singles play on court six, notching a record of 13-6. At the top spot, Bohrer is the sole player and has tallied a 12-6 record. At the No. 5 spot, MSU has its other winning record of 10-8. In doubles play, the Spartans have tallied a winning record at the first slot, 11-8, and at the third slot, 12-6.

Home Sweet HomeMichigan State is 7-4 on the season in matches in East Lansing. At the MSU Indoor Tennis Courts, the Spartans hold a 7-3 record.

Non-Conference OpponentsThe Spartans marked a 10-5 record during non-conference season. MSU started the season 7-0, the best start since 2007 for the women’s tennis team. MSU spent spring break in Florida picking up wins against Florida Atlantic and Florida International mid-season.

Next UpMichigan State will return to East Lansing next weekend to face Iowa on Saturday, April 13, at 12 p.m. and Nebraska on Sunday, April 14, at 12 p.m.